The new system takes a astrobiology approach and looks at how a planet's species/civilization evolves in relation to the available energy within the host planet's system. The classification system starts with planets with no biosphere at all and progresses to planets with a thick biosphere hosting an energy-intensive technological species/civilization. Previous planet classification systems, namely the Kardashev Scale published in 1964, considered the scale of a species/civilization's energy consumption and manipulation (planetary, solar, and galaxy level).

As the article's lead author puts it, "Earth’s entry into the 'Anthropocene' represents what might be, from an astrobiological perspective, a predictable planetary transition". The authors go on to suggest that Earth may be in a transitional or 'hybrid' stage from one class to another.